Chapter 37: One’s Duty
Kunlun learned in advance—through help from the Beggars’ Sect—that the Vice Cult Leader’s carriage was heading toward them.
The problem was that Kunlun found itself in a rather difficult predicament.
The confusion caused by this was laid bare in the emergency elders’ council that had been convened.
After watching the elders argue noisily with their respective opinions for quite some time, the Sect Master finally opened his mouth.
“Then what exactly are we supposed to do! Are you saying we should stake everything on a decisive duel with the Vice Cult Leader?”
At the Sect Master’s shout, silence fell over the council chamber.
When everyone was talking over one another, they could say anything they pleased, but now that their words would become an official stance, they could not speak carelessly.
Especially not against Emperor Salyejin—the damned Vice Cult Leader.
Looking with displeasure at the elders who could do nothing but read the room in silence, the Sect Master, Shin Jijinren, spoke.
“I know you’re frustrated. But is this really the time to simply vent our feelings? The Vice Cult Leader is already within a day’s distance.”
“Sect Master.”
“Ah! Please speak, Pavilion Lord of Jade Clear.”
“I am not blaming the Sect Master for the promise you made with the Vice Cult Leader. I am merely saying that the situation now is very different from when that promise was made.”
“I know. From the incident involving the Taiji Sword Emperor of Wudang to the accident at the Martial Alliance… However, should we not also consider what will happen if we break that promise?”
At the Sect Master’s question, the Pavilion Lord of Jade Clear fell silent. As silence once more settled over the council, the eldest and highest-ranked among them finally spoke.
“If you do not consider it presumptuous, may this old man from the inner chambers say a word?”
“I will open my ears and listen to Pavilion Lord of Upper Pure’s esteemed opinion. Please speak.”
At the Sect Master’s courteous reply, the Pavilion Lord of Upper Pure opened his mouth.
“Frankly, there is no answer. We cannot fight, yet if we honor the promise, it is obvious we will be pointed at and condemned by the many sects of the Hundred Paths.”
“I, too, worry about that. But to be honest, I fear the Vice Cult Leader’s tyranny even more.”
“I understand. How could I not know that man’s murderous nature? However, Sect Master, the reason we fear the condemnation of the other orthodox sects is because we know it will not end with mere criticism.”
“Are you worried about what might happen if the worst comes to pass?”
At the Sect Master’s question, the Pavilion Lord of Upper Pure nodded.
“Indeed. The Bright Cult will not remain so quiet forever. Even if we avoid a clash with the Vice Cult Leader now, trouble will inevitably arise someday. What I fear is whether we can endure when that day comes without the support of the other orthodox sects.”
As the Pavilion Lord of Upper Pure pointed out, Kunlun had suffered countless attacks from the Bright Cult—also known as the Demonic Cult—over the past several hundred years.
Each time, although the support from the Hundred Paths always arrived a step too late and left bitterness behind, without it Kunlun would never have been able to endure as it had until now.
At those words, the Sect Master replied with a troubled expression.
“I know. How could I not know? But if we break the promise, bloodshed will erupt immediately, and the safety of our innocent disciples will be left hanging by a thread. That is what worries me.”
“Since Kunlun was founded, there has never been a time when we were not at odds with the Demonic Cult, nor a year without bloodshed. Sect Master, do not turn away from your duty out of fear. Kunlun was originally established by our forefathers as a bulwark of the Central Plains to block the demonic beings of the Heavenly Mountains.”
At the Pavilion Lord of Upper Pure’s words, a heavy sense of mission spread through the room. Feeling that resolve, the Sect Master lifted his head and looked at the elders.
Seeing the elders steeling themselves as though they had never been pointing fingers at one another, the Sect Master bowed his head.
“I have been greatly enlightened by your words, Senior Uncle of the Upper Pure Pavilion. I am ashamed that I momentarily forgot that this resolve itself is the spirit of Kunlun.”
“Then, Sect Master…”
Trailing off as he gazed steadily, the Pavilion Lord of Upper Pure listened as the Sect Master spoke.
“Kunlun’s rice will not flow to the Bright Cult, nor to the Demonic Cult.”
“The Sect Master has made his resolve, then we must prepare to shed blood. I will have the old men of the Upper Pure Pavilion make ready. Rather than the children with bright futures ahead of them, we will be the first to receive the Vice Cult Leader’s blade. Sect Master and the elders should watch for an opportunity together with the disciples.”
Hearing that the former masters of the Upper Pure Pavilion would face the danger first, the Sect Master could not bring himself to refuse.
Though it would not be easy to withstand an expedition, he knew that the abilities the seniors of the Upper Pure Pavilion would display in Kunlun’s own courtyard surpassed even all those gathered in the elders’ council combined.
Thus, Kunlun’s atmosphere—having resolved to stake the seniors as sacrifices in a decisive showdown with the Vice Cult Leader—changed in an instant into one of desperate resolve.
From the moment he entered the foothills of Kunlun, Yul Han sensed that something was wrong. Instincts and perceptions he had never possessed in the past were now sending him warnings.
In the past, he would have passed by without knowing what it meant, but after experiencing the incident at the Martial Alliance, he now understood clearly.
‘Fighting intent!’
At that sensation, qualitatively different from killing intent, Yul Han spoke.
“Stop here for a moment.”
At the order from behind, Flashing Light Blood halted the carriage. The door opened, and Yul Han stepped down.
“Is there… perhaps something you wish to command?”
At Cold Blade Blood’s hurried question, Yul Han shook his head while gazing toward Mount Kunlun.
“It seems we won’t be passing through easily.”
“Yes? What do you mean?”
“Wait here. I’ll be back shortly.”
Without any detailed explanation of where he was going, Yul Han simply vanished.
As if only the Vice Cult Leader had been erased from space itself, he disappeared without a trace, causing Cold Blade Blood’s eyes to widen.
Flashing Light Blood was no less shocked. Though he prided himself on speed unmatched by any other, he had not perceived in the slightest which direction—or how—the Vice Cult Leader had vanished.
The place where Yul Han next revealed himself, leaving the two men flustered, was deep within Kunlun, shrouded in a grim, fully prepared battle stance—specifically, the Sect Master’s chamber.
Even as everyone else was tense in their respective positions ahead of battle, Shin Jijinren, who alone sat in his quarters polishing his sword, did not seem particularly surprised by Yul Han’s sudden appearance.
“You have come.”
“You were spreading such momentum, it was as if you were telling me you were here and to come find you.”
At Yul Han’s reply, Shin Jijinren smiled calmly and stood with his sword in hand. However, at his feet lay only an empty scabbard.
“What do you mean by this?”
“It was my promise. If you wish to cut, you must cut me first.”
“So you intend to break the promise.”
“That is how it has turned out.”
“I never realized Kunlun was a place that treated promises so lightly.”
At Yul Han’s words—more painful than any curse—Shin Jijinren’s gaze sank heavily.
“I am ashamed of that.”
“If you are ashamed, then you need only not do it. Do you not understand such a simple principle?”
Perhaps because he had expected the other to swing his blade without hesitation, Shin Jijinren was, for the first time, flustered by those unexpected words.
But only briefly. Regaining his composure, he replied.
“Even knowing that, I could not abandon my duty.”
“Duty? Kunlun’s duty would be… ah! A bulwark.”
As if Yul Han had grasped their intent, Shin Jijinren spoke.
“Our will has been conveyed, and Kunlun has made its resolve. Vice Cult Leader, please cut me down and proceed.”
At those words, Shin Jijinren raised his sword and took the opening stance of Kunlun’s supreme art, the Thirteen Cloud Dragon Swords. Watching him quietly, Yul Han sat down.
Seeing Yul Han take a posture disadvantageous for defense while facing an opponent on the verge of attack, Shin Jijinren looked at him in astonishment.
“What… do you mean by this?”
“I have no intention of destroying a bulwark, so I suggest we resolve this over a cup of tea.”
“No… why?”
To the still-bewildered Shin Jijinren, Yul Han replied.
“Let us say it is out of respect for the Sect Master’s resolve to take responsibility for breaking the promise.”
“….”
As Shin Jijinren remained speechless, Yul Han continued.
“Won’t you offer tea? You break a promise, and now you plan to be a poor host as well?”
At words little different from a rebuke, Shin Jijinren finally lowered his sword and shouted outward.
“Is there no one there!”
Despite his voice being far from quiet, there was no response from outside.
As Shin Jijinren frowned in confusion, Yul Han’s flustered voice reached his ears.
“Ah! A Protective Energy Barrier. That should do it. Please call again.”
From the Vice Cult Leader’s words, Shin Jijinren realized that all sound from the Sect Master’s chamber had been completely cut off from the outside.
And that realization only brought further shock. A master of Shin Jijinren’s level had not even noticed the barrier being deployed.
“So this is what it means to be beyond the beyond!”
He was startled to find himself feeling not only despair and fear toward the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult—whom he considered his lifelong enemy—but even awe.
Suppressing that feeling with difficulty, Shin Jijinren called again, and a disciple hurried in. The disciple was so shocked at the sight of the Vice Cult Leader sitting openly in the Sect Master’s chamber that he nearly screamed.
After calming the disciple and having him bring in tea, Shin Jijinren sat facing Yul Han.
“There may be unexpected movements outside.”
“So you mean they’ll want to make use of the formation they’ve already deployed.”
At Yul Han’s words, Shin Jijinren smiled bitterly.
It was not because, as the Vice Cult Leader said, they wanted to get some use out of a blade already drawn, but because they were afraid. Even so, he did not wish to state that so bluntly.
Even if it was a shameful act of covering the sky with one’s palm, he did not want to tell an outsider that Kunlun was frightened.
Thus, seeing Shin Jijinren simply smile calmly without speaking, Yul Han did not press further.
Soon, tea was brought in.
What was astonishing was the identity of the one carrying the tea.
Shin Jijinren sprang to his feet, his voice trembling with shock and confusion.
“A, Ancestor Master!”
The one who entered holding the tea was none other than a master two generations prior—a figure commonly joked about by young disciples as their master’s master.
Handing over the tea to the flustered Shin Jijinren, Cloud-Crane Scholar smiled and spoke.
“Have you been well?”
“H-how could you be here, Ancestor…?”
Still too shocked to speak properly, Shin Jijinren was met with Cloud-Crane Scholar’s gentle smile.
“It has been a while, so I thought I’d see my grand-disciple. And since a distinguished guest had arrived, I figured I’d come have a look. Was this old man a bother?”
“N-not at all. Please… sit here.”
At Shin Jijinren’s hurried offer of the seat of honor as he stepped aside, Cloud-Crane Scholar sat down.
However, when he did, two long swords clattered awkwardly behind his back.
Chuckling bitterly, Cloud-Crane Scholar removed them and set them aside.
“When you grow old, it’s not just fear that increases. Your clothes get bigger, and your swords get bigger too. That fellow of mine from the Upper Pure Pavilion claims it’s because my body has shrunk with age.”
At Cloud-Crane Scholar’s rambling, Yul Han let out a small laugh.
Of course, under the influence of Extreme Slaughter, it should not have looked so benign—but upon seeing that smile, Cloud-Crane Scholar said something unexpected.